Nosferatu


The band’s sole album is a highlight of early Krautrock. Released on “Deutsche Vogue” in 1970, it remains a lively testimonial of the fledgling German music scene of the time, which was steadily moving away from its Anglo-American role-models to create an independent sound that the English initially and somewhat disparagingly called Krautrock, but which eventually came to be a seal of quality.

The years 1964-67 witnessed the breakthrough of “beat- and rock music” in Frankfurt and other parts of Germany. Bands played in all kinds of multipurpose halls, gymnasiums, church halls, youth clubs and the first rock clubs. The performances of bands like ‘Casey Jones and the Governors’, ‘The Lords’, ‘The Pretty Things’ and Alexis Korner, ‘Them’ with Van Morrison and Arthur Brown (Fire) and many others were celebrated enthusiastically. Soul stars like Sam & Dave, Otis Redding and even James Brown did TV-recordings before an audience in the U.S. HQ Europe officer’s club in Frankfurt.

In this climate student and amateur bands sprouted and got together in youth or rehearsal rooms. Encouraged by their enormous interest, young organizers were busy arranging concerts with local bands. The so called “beat competitions” were particularly popular, since no or only a little fee was paid and the winning band was chosen by the audience.

Although hardly profitable for the musicians, these events produced fan clubs, and occasionally a gig at a school festival followed – and so the musicians had a strong motivation to write their own and original music, develop stage shows, musical craftsmanship and have a go at professionalism. New bands came and went, changing names and line-up, but all this helped create a lively music scene in the Rhine Main Area, which produced creative music for many years.

One of these bands with a very particular concept was ‘Nosferatu’ - the name referring to expressionistic film-making in the 1930ies rather than vampires. Their second place in one of the afore mentioned beat competitions (organized by Peter Hauke) got them a record contract that resulted in the album at hand.

Tony Hendrik, music producer from Cologne, who was part of the audience at the beat competition, was so impressed that he signed them on right away. His comments on the inside cover give witness of his extraordinary appreciation: 

This is the big aggressive sound of today, performed by NOSFERATU.

The first time, I heard them, they were auditioning together with several other new groups, all managed by Peter Hauke. I was so enthusiastic about Nosferatu’s splendid musical ideas and their irresistible drive that I signed them immediately for “Deutsche Vogue” and cut this album a few weeks later.Don’t let me describe their music – all self-penned -, just listen and enjoy it as much, as Conny (the engineer) and me did, when we recorded this first step into the recording business of the unusually gifted, young German group Nosferatu.

Once the record had been released, gigs all over Germany followed - open-air gigs in Wasserburg, Frankfurt and Kassel, as supporting act for ‘Steamhammer’ and ‘Humble Pie’. But like many other bands of the time, Nosferatu eventually failed to remain successful nationwide. 

The atmosphere was extremely tense, and artists anywhere were preoccupied with the social influences from the hippie movement, esotericism, the squatting scene and APO. In contrast, terms like management, promotional concepts and continuous work on the band were hardly internalized. Competing bands appearing in charts, clubs and on TV were commercially successful and set the bar too high for experimental music, so eventually the band split up two years after releasing this album.

Together with guitarist Lutz Sommer (later with ‘Papa Zoot Band’ and ‘Beatles Revival Band’ and Georg Viel (later with ‘Frankfurt City Blues), Felke, Kessler and Thierfelder went on to found the band ‘Samia’, which was not granted success either.

Mick Thierfelder turned to jazz and played with the Michael Sagmeister band as well as in the trio “Frey, Tiepolt, Thierfelder”, before joining the ‘Hired Help Band’ (Funk & Soul). Today he works as a designer in Munich.

Christian Felke played with ‘Epsilon’, managed to become a professional musician and participated in many musical projects as flutist and saxophone player (for example Klaus Lage Band, Rainhard Fendrich’s accompanying band, Zöller Band, Caro etc.) He had a big commercial success with the “Zillertaler Schürzenjäger”. Currently he is involved in several musical projects (such as “Chilly” and “Sound & Gebläse”).

Unfortunately, Byally Braumann, Michael Kessler and Tammy Grohé died much too early.

In their November 1970 edition, the music magazine Sounds reviewed the album , writing:

This Tony Hendrik production presents a new German pop group. It is a 6 man band presenting extended song formats. Sophisticated instrumental arrangements are coupled with expressive vocal passages. Saxophone, flute, organ and guitar improvisations provide an enrichment to the conventional song constructions. Sound engineer Conny Plank has also got a finger in the pie, loosening up the music with sundry electronic distortions and reverberators. The entire group wrote the music, vocalist Michael Thierfelder the lyrics. “Willie the Fox”, nearly 11 minutes long, is the LP’s most important piece and shows the group at their very best. In ”Found My Home” Nosferatu is reminiscent of the English group “Rare Bird”, but that’s not at all meant to allege plagiarism.

A review in the Prog-Archiv writes:
Unlike many German bands from the late 60ies and the early 70ies that were focussing on progressive psychedelic rock, “Nosferatu” were inspired more by English jazz rock and the Northern American rhythm-blues, creating a hard jazz rock sound, with the organ taking the lead. ‘Nosferatu’ also differed from the other bands managed by famous producer Conny Plank in that their musical “career” was very short-lived and they suffered from a lack of acceptance by a wider audience. Little is known about the band’s history, but their album sounds fresh, enthusiastic and represents an atypically jazzy sounding rock album, dominated by rough, aggressive guitar sound and progressive “folk arrangements”, which bestow on it a dark and hypnotic appearance.

It is remarkable that the dynamic rhythm group was mixed way at the front. Although saxophone, flute and guitar are very effective in giving dashes of colour, it is the rhythm group that is ultimately in control. Michael Thierfelder’s vocal style fits the group sound very well and sounds like a mixture of Jack Bruce and Chris Farlowe.

The first title “Highway” is a rather catchy song, “James Brown meets Cream” style. Perhaps even with a small touch of the early ‘The Nice’. The following two pieces are special with regard to arrangement and length. And indeed, “Willie the Fox” and “Found my Home” are fine examples for how the roots of rhythm and blues, funk and jazz rock merge with the rough tension of psychedelic rock. The forays of organ, guitar and saxophone are proof of the musical freedom the musicians take without leaving the basis set by the rhythm group. Particularly the middle part of “Willie the Fox” contains highly exciting moments, while “Found my Home” is more jazzy. Although in “Found my Home” - probably the album’s best song - the flute dominates, it is the guitar that catches the listener’s attention. Title no. 4 is called “No. 4” and is quite a unique example of psychedelic progressive rock. Earthy and solemn, the initial drumming merges with bizarre piano insets, followed by a mixture of jazz rock and early symphonic progressive rock. This fantastic title shows ‘Nosferatu’ in their most bizarre moments. The last two titles lead back to rhythm and blues, while “Vanity Fair” contains a couple of African- Latin American elements, taking the album to a grand finale.

Mick Thierfelder, Manfred Steinheuer, April 2010
Translation: Dr. Martina Häusler

Special thanks to Mick Thierfelder, Christian Felke, Michael Meixner.
This album is dedicated to the memory of Tammy Grohé, Byally Braumann and Michael Kessler (R. I. P.).

Nosferatu - Nosferatu 1970

Side 1
Highway (Nosferatu/M. Thierfelder) Belmont 4’16’’
Willie The Fox (Nosferatu/M. Thierfelder) Pop-Po 9’20’’
Found My Home (Nosferatu/M. Thierfelder) Pop-Po 8’40’’

Side 2
No. 4 Nosferatu/M. Thierfelder) Belmont 8’52’’
Work Day (Nosferatu/M. Thierfelder) 6’55’’
Pop-Po Vanity Fair (Nosferatu/M. Thierfelder) Belmont 6’48’’


MICHAEL “MICK” THIERFELDER, vocal
CHRISTIAN FELKE, sax. + flute
MICHAEL “MIKE” KESSLER, bass-guitar
REINHARD “TAMMY” GROHé, organ
MICHAEL “XNER” MEIXNER, lead-guitar
BYALLY BRAUMANN, drums